Colors of Spring

To me, spring is about new life. It is about repurposing what you have on hand. My husband asks me all the time why I move stuff. It may be a piece of furniture or a wheelbarrow full of rocks. He just does not understand the need I have to create something that looks different or is used in a different way. Now granted, sometimes he is right about the furniture moves and I end up changing it back. And sometimes not. This year I've come across some new and old glass that says SPRING to me. The soft colors remind me of how the green leaves begin to fill the earth with an eventual shock of color. I understand why God started things out in a garden.  

 

After the full mantels of Christmas and then winter, I wanted a cleaner look for spring. I know Easter is done, but a dear friend gave me the Lladro bunny as a gift and I haven't found another place for her yet.

A pre-1900 bottle my dad brought from Natchez. I guess I get my love of "old stuff" from him.

I love the purples, blues, and greens of spring. And the vintage garland I found last fall for Christmas has not left my mantel since it arrived. I have found ways to make it work, because I love the way it shimmers in different colors. See below how it worked through three different seasons?

Christmas

Winter

Spring

I now see that I need something green that is alive on this mantel! Oh, so what's new? Change is good. Blessings to you and yours for good times and sunshiney days to share with those you love.

Becky

Linking to:

Spring Break Is Bursting Out All Over!

This week there are no discipline problems for me to handle, no teachers to observe, and no piles of paperwork to sort through on my desk because it is SPRING BREAK! It comes late this year, and in south Mississippi the weather has been perfect since Good Friday, which was our first day off. My spirit has soared both spriritually with our Easter celebration and creatively, while working on multiple projects.

 Yesterday I worked on planting a new bed in front of the screen to our "used to be" dog pen. I had an old fountain that did not work well anymore, so I filled it with verbena, asparagus fern, and vinca. When it fills out and the lion face is covered, I will like it a lot more and it will flow with the rustic look around the barn out back.

Gate latch updated with an old spade

  Since I gardened yesterday and worked on a few signs for an upcoming outdoor movie night by the barn, I found the need for a work apron to hold my tools, screws, and whatever I need at the moment. So this morning my first chore was to replicate a work apron of my husbands I found in the barn. Mine was going to be quick, simple, and plain. That just did not happen. It turned out really cute and so cute I probably won't wear it outside because I go from sawdust to paint to dirt without thinking. It fits me so well I will have to make that plain one after all!

Oh So Cute Apron

A tea-dyed muslin rosette along with some hand-stamped muslin ribbon for packages I made a while back were the perfect finish for my apron. The three deep pockets leave plenty of space for whatever my hands find to do.

I learned a few things from my first attempt at this apron, so next time I will do a little better job. My grandma taught me to measure and pin everything and sometimes I get in a hurry to move on to the next project! In fact, I think I will make my niece that is a hairdresser one. She has lots of stuff she can put in those pockets! :)

Well, it is time to go outside and garden some more since I have a helper here for the day. Best wishes to you and yours for good times and lots of sunshine!

Becky

This week I linked to these parties: 

  

Easter Is for Family

My Easter Weekend began Thursday when I got off work and went to an elderly friend's house to pick up her tax work for my husband. Her home is down a country road, and then down a single gravel lane that crosses an old wooden bridge. It is one of the prettiest homesites in our area. My only sadness in doing this is that my friend is not in good health and that I missed her azaleas in bloom. As you can see from the photo,  I would be almost emersed in springtime glory if I had only gone a couple of weeks sooner.

When I left my friend's house, I headed straight home to a beef tenderloin dinner that was out of this world. Then Friday was filled with yardwork and that night was Mexican at The White House (what we jokingly call our home, since our last name is White) where we started off with homemade guacamole and very spicy bean dip.

Family and friends were all talking and laughing at once while sharing stories so funny you could not make them up if you tried. And they were all TRUE! It was a great night. Saturday was a quick trip to town for some last minute Easter clothes and browsing for props for our next party. We had a great outdoor Sunrise Service at our church at 7 a.m., then had breakfast prepared by our Men's Minstries team, and finally an early worship service. Lunch followed at my mom and dad's home, where the day ended relaxing under my brother's shade oak trees while watching the grandkids and great-grandkids play softball. What a great day for counting our blessings!

We actually returned home with enough sunlight left to finish up photos of a completed project. I showed you the before a few weeks ago...whoa. That is one sad little settee.

After a couple cans of spray paint and a new cushion, it is once again one of my favorite spots to spend a few moments alone resting or reading.

Tomorrow I begin a full week of Spring Break and my to-do list is very long. The weather man says we will have several beautiful days of sunshine and I am planning on filling them with good times.

 Blessings to you and yours,

Becky

Sunshiney Days

This weekend was my son Connor's senior prom. He and his sweetie, Lea Anna, (how is that for a great Southern name!) made some cute photos before they left for dinner in Ocean Springs and then back to the school for Prom. Yep, they were going "old school" this year by having the Prom on campus. Hard economic times affect everything!

This is one of my favorite shots...a giant wood bee was buzzing around the barn. Con said through gritted teeth, "Hurry up, mom...a giant bee-a really giant bee is coming!"

Lea had some gorgeous heels, but this softball girl loved her bare feet better!

Now that Prom is over, maybe I can get back in the groove of making and creating things. We are hosting a movie night with some couples from our church next month and boy, my honey-do list is getting longer by the moment! I know we need to build a long serving table, a frame for our outdoor screen, and I am thinking of placing some dividers in the garden trug (below) I made back in January.

 Right now it is housing some flowers, but I think I could make some slip in/slip out dividers for cutlery and napkins.  Maybe just fill with some tin cans for dividers? That would be a cute, easy fix. Any ideas? Tell me what you think. Blessings to you and yours as the days of sunshine get longer and hotter here in Mississippi. May your days be blessed as the changing of the season comes your way.

Becky

Let's Get Gardening, Mississippi!

It seems I only get to post on the weekend, but my weeks are always so full! Spring is beginning to show her face around here, so it has spurred me to get busy with some outdoor projects. My oldest son, Jameson, gave me a tiller that I absolutely HAD to have for Mother's Day in 2010 and can you believe this weekend he finally taught me how to use it? And yes, I love it, but my biceps know I used it! Our high school FFA has been selling tomatoes and I could not resist, so we tilled, amended, and planted. Now hurry up, Mississippi sunshine, and make me some tomotoes for my tomato sandwich craving!

The other project I worked on today is still in progress. About 10 years ago I bought this old settee at a shop in Pass Christian. It was all chippy white then, and over time needed repainting. I did a quick job last fall, but the color was somewhat off. Not what I had in mind at all.  I will show you the before, even though it is dreadfully drab. I still have to finish the cushion cover, so when that is done, I will give you the "after".

See what I mean? Good lines, but the color is just blah, blah, blah! I think we can do much better. When it is done, I think you will approve. Then I can sit in the sun (or shade, as it sits now) and enjoy good times.

Blessings to you and yours,

Becky

Spring's Coming!

The "week-end" did not exist for me. My Saturday was spent in a workshop getting some credits to keep my administrator's license current. The content was very pertinent and the information good; it just wasn't what I had in mind for my Saturday! Today we celebrated my youngest son's 18th birthday, which was March 1. He had a little help from a friend blowing out the candles. I spent a short while this morning before church looking at a perennial catalog and a new Flea Market Style magazine. Other than that, it has been church, dinner with family and friends, and a little more browsing and dreaming.

The sun is bright, the sky is blue, and the breeze is still cool. I took just a few shots of the flowers that are beginning to pop in our yard. I can hardly wait to get my hands dirty with more. Spring is welcome to arrive any time now at our Mississippi farm.  Maybe next time I can share some of my make-over works in progress. Blessings to you for a wonderful week.

Becky

Ole Miss and Delta Dining

Talk about sunshine! Yesterday was a cool but sunny day as we visited the Ole Miss campus in Oxford for an open house event. Our youngest son is trying to decide where he will attend school in the fall. The Lyceum, above, is a historical building in the center of campus. The columns on the Lyceum are depicted in the Ole Miss symbol you see on literature and around Mississippi on car tags of UM supporters.

We met a lot of prospective students from different states and saw a few acquaintances. It was a good morning. Then we traveled across the hills to the flat land of the Mississippi Delta to see our best friend. Next week is our son Connor's birthday and our friend Mike pulled out all the stops and surprised him with a delicious birthday supper with some old and new friends.

                                         The table was set and ready for some Delta dining.

We made a special trip to a tamale stand down the street to pick up some of the best in town.

I was so jealous that I could not try Mike's crabcakes (have a shellfish allergy), but everyone else said they were out of this world. Aren't  they a beautiful golden brown?

And...after much persuasion from the other guests, Con donned his birthday crown

as "Uncle Mike" joined in the fun.

We made it home to the coast in 5 hours with only one stop. Now, the washer and dryer are going, I am in my pjs watching the Oscars, and getting ready to start another week. No signs of my tulips yet. I think we will have to settle for azaleas this year! Blessings to you for more good times and sunshine.

Becky